In this qualitative study, familial mediation and appropriation processes are examined in a three-generation perspective, taking into account the in-family development of social development processes in two neighboring subregions. Attention is given not only to the continuity, but also to the adaptations and changes of the forms and content of family traditioning. The linking of a generational perspective with Halbwachs' considerations of collective memory opens up several comparison options. In addition to capturing familial, generational and regional similarities and differences, the dynamics of familial tradition can be worked out in this way.

Tony Conrad (b. 1940) has been a well-known American artist for more than 50 years. Celebrated as a musician, filmmaker, video and performance artist, he achieved his breakthrough in 1966 with the experimental film The Flicker. In addition to his film work (including the so called Yellow Movies), his violin performances have also achieved broad recognition. This monograph focuses on about 70 video works produced by the artist since 1977, which previously have not been systematically studied. Beginning from Conrad’s earlier rather materialistic approach, in A videographic view of the artist’s vita the text follows the artists shift from experimental film to a more image-driven videographic approach. The chapter Last call for video comments on Tony Conrad influential interaction with the Buffalo-based group of appropriation artists. Then Video as critique of television interrogates the interplay between (video) art and society as a reflection of the telematic culture of the 1980s. The last chapter, Video in tension with music, returns to the beginning of the artist’s career and comments on Tony Conrad’s identity as a musician.

Conceiving the Goddess is an exploration of goddess cults in South Asia that embodies research on South Asian goddesses in various disciplines. The theme running through all the contributions, with their multiple approaches and points of view, is the concept of appropriation, whereby one religious group adopts a religious belief or practice not formerly its own. What is the motivation behind this? Are such actions attempts to dominate, or to resist the domination of others, or to adapt to changing social circumstances – or perhaps simply to enrich the religious experience of a group’s members? In examining these questions, Conceiving the Goddess considers a range of settings: a Jain goddess lurking in a Brahminical temple, the fraught relationship between the humble Camār caste and the river goddess Gaṅgā, the mutual appropriation of disciple and goddess in the tantric exercises of Kashmiri Śaivism, and the alarming self-decapitation of the fierce goddess Chinnamastā.

This book looks at how modern philosophers pass on myths about prehistory.Why do political philosophers talk so much about the Stone Age? The state of nature, the origin of property, the origin of government, and the primordial nature of inequality and war are popular topics in political philosophy, but are they being used as more than just illustrative examples? Does the best available evidence from archaeology and anthropology support or conflict with the stories being passed on by political philosophers?This book presents a philosophical look at the origin of civilization, examining political theories to show how claims about prehistory are used and presents evidence that much of what we think we know about human origins comes not from scientific investigation but from the imagination of philosophers.

In this volume of 15 articles, contributors from a wide range of disciplines present their analyses of Disney movies and Disney music, which are mainstays of popular culture. The power of the Disney brand has heightened the need for academics to question whether Disney’s films and music function as a tool of the Western elite that shapes the views of those less empowered. Given its global reach, how the Walt Disney Company handles the role of race, gender, and sexuality in social structural inequality merits serious reflection according to a number of the articles in the volume. On the other hand, other authors argue that Disney productions can help individuals cope with difficult situations or embrace progressive thinking. The different approaches to the assessment of Disney films as cultural artifacts also vary according to the theoretical perspectives guiding the interpretation of both overt and latent symbolic meaning in the movies. The authors of the 15 articles encourage readers to engage with the material, showcasing a variety of views about the good, the bad, and the best way forward.